In a troubling development for the cryptocurrency industry, four hacker groups have laundered $49.3 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) through the Ethereum mixing service Tornado Cash since the start of September. Such an increase in illicit activity underlines that the problem of using privacy tools in the blockchain is becoming increasingly relevant today, as reported by Spot On Chain.

The overall 20,561 ETH has been routed through Tornado Cash, a platform that helps to hide the source of the cryptocurrency transactions. Among those hacker groups, the Penpie exploiter was more aggressive because it acted quickly and had already laundered 11,261 ETH, equivalent to $26.7 million, within four days of the initial attack. At the same time, the WazirX exploiter controls 54,155 ETH, or roughly $123 million, which is about 88% of the total stolen funds.

Ethereum Drops 13% Amid Surge in Laundering Activity

This rise in laundering activity is associated with a drop in the market capitalization of Ethereum as an asset. At the same time, Ethereum has declined to $2,169, a drop in value of over 13% in the same period. This decline also contributes to the fluctuation in prices of various commodities, increasing the risks associated with the market for investors and stakeholders.

Tornado Cash has been criticized and debated in the cryptocurrency industry over the years because it helps maintain transaction anonymity. The recent increase in using the platform in high-profile hacking incidents is reviving concern over the privacy-preserving nature of technologies in the blockchain domain. Although there are ongoing discussions on how these issues will be addressed, the cryptocurrency community is closely watching the effects on market stability and future regulatory frameworks for privacy solutions in the financial sector.

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